March 2/09 12:55 pm - 2009 UCI Registered Mountain Bike Teams

Posted by Editoress on 03/2/09

The UCI has released the 2009 list of mountain bike teams registered for the World Cup. For possibly the first time, there are no Canadian teams on the list, with Rocky Mountain becoming Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles, and registered in the U.S.

Courtesy UCI

Registration of the UCI Mountain Bike Teams for the 2009 season has been completed. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has registered 90 teams from three continents – America, Europe and Oceania and from 18 nations.

Ireland has registered a UCI Mountain Bike Team for the first time, and Australia makes a comeback this year with two new teams.

The number of UCI Mountain Bike Teams remains high in 2009 in comparison with previous years: thirty teams were registered in 2000 (the first year of UCI Mountain Bike Teams), 29 in 2004, 66 in 2007 and 96 in 2008.

The Olympic cross-country teams once again make up an important part of the overall number of UCI Mountain Bike teams: 57% compared with 36% for the downhill and 4X teams. The remaining 7% are mixed teams in which Olympic cross-country specialists rub shoulders with downhill-4X riders.

The number of teams from the United States (14), Italy (14), Germany (12), France (10), and Spain (8) confirms the increase, already perceived last year, in the number of registrations from these nations.